THERE was only one place to find Wee County rugby fans on Saturday as Hillfoots and Alloa went toe-to-toe in league action.

The much anticipated fixture arrived with both teams within teaching distance of one another at the foot of the table.

Hillfoots made the short trip to Alloa with supporters in fine voice for the 2pm showdown.

Hillfoots started well, defending ferociously across the pitch and eventually took the lead after about 20 minutes following a period of sustained pressure. The Hillfoots scrum was dominant and, following an infringement by the evergreen Rolf Maitland, was awarded a penalty close to Alloa's line. A quick tap by John McMurdo allowed Greig Anderson to bully himself over the whitewash in the corner to open the scoring.

The rest of the half was a bit of a stalemate, with the half ending at 5-0 to Hillfoots.

The Alloa back division had shown some signs of being able to open up the ‘Foots defence in that first half with only the final crucial ball not going to hand.

However they hit gold with a lovely delayed pass by Colin Jess which found Kris Aitken on a perfect running angle and the Alloa Centre sliced through under the posts.

Lee Cairney converted to put his side 7-5 in front.

However, Hillfoots hit back and after some sustained pressure, were awarded a penalty in front of the posts.

Captain Keith Slade made the call to decline the easy three points and keep the pressure on the Alloa try-line and a few minutes later Kevin Aitken crossed the line after numerous phases made the gaps. The score was converted to put Hillfoots back in the lead 12-7.

Hillfoots were not finished at that though and continued to attack Alloa.

After further attacks the ball was spun out to winger Alex Cameron who up until this point had had a quiet game, but he took his chance and showed his finishing skills to score the 3rd try for Hillfoots with about 10 minutes remaining.

With the game all but won at this stage Hillfoots were on the charge for a fourth try to secure a valuable bonus point.

With the referee preparing to blow for full-time, Alloa coughed up possession.

Calum Hood pounced on the loose ball and, after making good yards himself, played a simple and effective pass back inside for John McMurdo to scamper over the line and secure the bonus point win for Hillfoots. The successful conversion secured a 24-7 victory and bragging rights until the next fixture between these two old foes.

The Hillfoots team were presented with the McGill Cup at the end of the game, in memory of local stalwart Bobby McGill. Powerful centre Vodo Millard was declared the man of the match.

Next week Hillfoots are at home to Blairgowrie, 2pm kick-off. A win would see them leapfrog the Perthshire team in the league and continue a positive start to 2020.

For Alloa, this weekend offers up another short trip, this time to Dunfermline for a 2pm kick off.